Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 12, 1992 TAG: 9203120256
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOE TENNIS CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
And the crowd loved it.
The fists of long-haired teen-age boys - and girls - rose in unison through the smoke-choked air as vocalist James Hetfield and his band blasted through scowling, howling, hearing-impairing renditions of hits like the crunching "Enter Sandman" and the thunderous "Creeping Death."
The band's scream-along music is the heaviest of metal, a hard-charging blast of full-bodied noise anchored by the foul-mouthed Hetfield, whose gasoline-soaked voice crunches like toast.
The band's gut-twisting guitars grind like heavy machinery while the surging rhythm section leaves listeners vibrating.
The band is known for such breakthrough LP's as 1983's "Kill 'Em All," 1984's "Ride the Lightning," 1986's "Master of Puppets" and 1988's " . . . And Justice for All."
On the road since October, the band is busy supporting its new self-titled LP, which recently won the 1992 Grammy for Best Metal Performance on the strength of tracks like "Enter Sandman" and the power ballad "The Unforgiven."
If Grand Funk Railroad was the ultimate wall of deafening sound for the '70s, Metallica surely wears the same pair of shoes for the '90s.
Yeah, the songs ain't pretty - and probably won't end up on Muzak. But Metallica's pounding doses of sonic tonic does fill you up.
Lighters filled the concert air like candles at a Catholic Mass. One dude occasionally fired-up a blowtorch.
And a steady stream of other crazies let the head-banging crowd pass their bodies overhead as if they were floating on a sea of outstretched arms.
Perhaps the highlight of the show came during halftime, when Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, who mooned the crowd according to some in the audience, staged a crowd-wooing musical duel on separate drum kits.
Soon after, guitarist Kirk Hammett arrived on the scene, entering the musical frolics with riffs of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath numbers - plus a guitar solo - to the 8,561-person crowd's delight.
by CNB